It can be fun to DIY a website design – especially with user friendly design tools like Canva. But here’s the thing… no one wants their website to look ‘DIY’, right?

Here are some dead give-aways that your website is DIY:

1 – Different ‘frames’ on all your photos

You start with a watercolor swoosh… then you add a shiny gold outline… then maybe a hand-drawn element in the corner. It’s just really hard to stop when you’re on a roll!

But having different frames on all of your website photos gets distracting and it takes away from the overall look and feel of your website.

Here’s how to fix it:

Choose 1 style of frame that you love, and then stick with it throughout your website. Remember that the photos frames are only ONE design element of many that need to work together on your website.

2 – Lots of different fonts

If you used more than 3 fonts on your website, you’re pushing it. If you used more than 4…. you’ve gone too far! Too may font styles scream DIY.

Here’s how to fix it:

Stick with 3 fonts: one for headings, one for subheadings, and one for paragraphs. If you want to add a little extra, choose one special font to highlight a few words (this is where a script font works!)

3 – Too many words

Long paragraphs don’t work well on websites. If I see a website with long pages full of paragraph text, I know it’s a DIY.

Designers use a lot of tricks to break up words and make them more readable: headings, colors, lists, photos.

Here’s how to fix it:

Challenge yourself to get rid of 1/2 of the words on your website. See if you can turn a paragraph into a bullet list. Make sure you have a heading for every section.

4 – Things whizzing onto the page in every direction

Guys. Transitions are a slippery slope. I rarely use them at all because the become distracting VERY quickly.

If every element on your website ‘flies’, ‘appears’, ‘bounces’, or ‘zooms’ onto the page, your website is going to look DIY.

Here’s how to fix it:

My best advice is just don’t use transitions (or animations) at all. BUT, if you must… stick to one style and use it sparingly. Limit yourself to one element per page. That way it draws attention to that element without being too distracting overall.

There you have it! Avoid these 4 mistakes to make your DIY website look like it was designed by a pro!

Need help with your visual brand?

Check out our new DIY Brand Kit Templates! 100% customizable and easy to edit in Canva 🙂